Known as “the food of the Gods,” chocolate is one of the world's most luxurious foods. Although chocolate has been enjoyed by mankind for over three-thousand years, researchers have only recently discovered that chocolate and other roasted cocoa bean products contain acrylamide.
In April 2002, the Swedish National Food Administration and researchers from Stockholm University announced their findings that acrylamide, a potentially cancer-causing chemical, is formed in many types of foods and beverages that undergo heat processing. Subsequently, it has been discovered that roasted cocoa bean products, such as chocolate, contain acrylamide. Acrylamide has a carcinogenic potency in rats that is similar to that of other carcinogens in food, but for humans, the relative potency in food and beverages is not known. Only limited human population data are available for acrylamide and these provide no evidence of cancer risk from occupational exposure. (FAO/WHO Consultation on the Health Implications of Acrylamide in Food: Summary Report; Geneva, Switzerland, 25–27 Jun. 2002.)
Although further research is needed to assess what health effects, if any, may result from human consumption of acrylamide at the levels commonly found in cocoa products, many consumers have voiced concern. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method for reducing the level of acrylamide in roasted cocoa beans. It is also an object of the present invention to provide roasted cocoa beans having reduced levels of acrylamide. Further, it is an object of the present invention to provide an article of commerce that communicates to the consumer that a roasted cocoa product has reduced or low levels of acrylamide.